Yes, money is the name of the game these days. He’s the reason they’ve seen an uptick in recruiting. He might be able to single handily outspend the PSU dynasty. It would be ironic, as money was a huge component to getting them on top.
Welp….
- Thread starter vhsalum
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No, I love Iowa wrestling. Always have, always will.
I didn't start hating psu, until you douche canoes all decided to come over here.
Don't have to get rid of Telford, just shift him to recruiting coordinator
The data shows we’ve entered the zalesky era. Missing on DT / keeping the brands is just another step towards mediocrity. I’m tired of watching the product. Have to give a ton of credit to OSUs AD. OSU was always my second favorite team with smith at the helm but moves like this make me like them even more!
Askren just addressed this again last week on FRL. He’s not interested in college coaching until his kids are grown up. DT on the other hand has publicaly expressed interest in college coaching for the last 10 years.
And no, I don’t believe that Morningstar and Telford are better than those guys. Not even close - I just know that those moves aren’t happening with the current HC in place.
Yet another guy that can't read and then comprehend. Over and over again I said there are plenty of things that need to be done. I have clearly and succinctly detailed the coaching issues Brands needs to address and even said they should bring in someone that can coach them up in the deficient areas.....
It’s certainly refreshing seeing a fearless leadership team taking chances and betting on the future of their program.
Our top boosters seem more worried about being buddies with TNT’s than they are about the future of Iowa wrestling. Hopefully this move wakes them up, because we just blew a huge opportunity.
It's not like Cael was setting the world on fire at ISU. He did have name recognition and his recruiting Taylor to PSU started his lagacy. I can see the same thing at OSU if the NIL is there.
For all of those that say Brands isn't doing anything differently, how do you actually know that? How many of you that are complaining are actually close enough to the program to even have a CLUE what he is doing behind the scenes or coaching on the mat.
acuhawk came on here and said some things that directly contradict this negative narrative. I do think there are changes that need to be made and scrambling/finishing absolutely needs to be a major focus.
Look, even though the "bootlicker" comments are hilarious, I have even said I would be fine with a new hire if you could firmly show me the new hire is proven enough to be significantly better. I am more on the stay with Brands side because I don't see anyone better.
If you can tell me you are close enough to the program to actually see what Brands is doing, other than no coaching changes, and show me what methods aren't working and why, I am happy to listen....
acuhawk came on here and said some things that directly contradict this negative narrative. I do think there are changes that need to be made and scrambling/finishing absolutely needs to be a major focus.
Look, even though the "bootlicker" comments are hilarious, I have even said I would be fine with a new hire if you could firmly show me the new hire is proven enough to be significantly better. I am more on the stay with Brands side because I don't see anyone better.
If you can tell me you are close enough to the program to actually see what Brands is doing, other than no coaching changes, and show me what methods aren't working and why, I am happy to listen....
no assistant coaching changes is a huge problem. Telford? Morningstar? LOL
Because most of us have eyes that work. If TNT are actually making the proper changes like some here claim, it certainly hasn't been translated over to the mat in March.
We saw the same issues with Iowa this year that Askren and DT called out 7 years ago, dude. When is enough enough?
He was a recruiting machine from the very beginning, but pairing him with PSU made it unprecedented. I think many don't understand how the location and the name itself made it happen. Some want to downplay the waking of the "sleeping giant" but it absolutey was that, a truly perfect pairing.
OkState simply doesn't offer the same level. Yes, it is a top 5 location, but DT will have to rely WAY more on national talent that isn't close to home. Even Brands at Iowa has found out how difficult that is. Meanwhile, PSU has PA with NJ, NY and Ohio all right next door.
Haines I think has a RS year does that make a difference in losing a year?
RIP Iowa wrestling. Oklahoma State about to murder it in the portal. All new coaches on staff. Taylor is going big. Iowa isn’t. Sad.
WIth everything I said, I still will freely admit I wanted to see them go after Nolf HARD. Putting him on staff could go a long ways towards addressing where Iowa has been weakest recently. I DO think shaking up the support staff needs to be done, unless they have come up with a new way to address finishing/scrambling and are going to implement it going forward....even then, I still would really like Nolf on staff.
Brands has done a hell of a job on top recruits too. Marinelli and Kennedy. Both top 5 recruits. How'd that work out?
People on here regularly underestimate the immediate impact Cael had at Iowa State. Look at his results compared to what came immediately before and after his tenure, including 3 straight Big 12 championships in all three years for a school that hadn't won one in 15 years prior and wouldn't again until this past year. No, he didn't win a national championship there and yes, the resources at Penn State that he didn't have at Iowa State are a huge part of the dynasty that he's built at Penn State, but he had an unmistakable immediate impact on ISU's fortunes as well, and I believe he would have won at least one national championship if he had stayed there, too, just not 13.
I am not sure that DT will be a great coach but as an Iowa fan, I ask myself, would I rather wake up today with DT as head coach at Iowa or Brands and I would say DT. I never liked him, but he is the guy for the younger wrestlers. Iowa wrestling is stale right now, and there is not much excitement. Recruiting is not good enough, results are not good enough, and there is nothing being changed to give us hope. I hate to say but I am getting closer to apathy than excitement and that has not happened before.It's not happening. So just come on over brother
Lol, find me someone that is proven enough that he can almost certainly make Iowa significantly better and I have no issue with your stance. I do not nearly think of Brands in the negative light that you do, but I also understand that Iowa demands success at the highest levels possible. If there is someone out there that can and would clearly do better, I am not against the change. I just don't see ANYONE out there that can remotely begin to guarantee such.....It's not happening. So just come on over brother
I respect @MSU158 a lot because he puts a lot of thought into his posts and is a good member of the forum. But ultimately, he's embraced a defeatism that most of us on here aren't willing accept as fans.
Is the PSU train likely to derail anytime soon? No. Does that mean all hope is lost? No. Nobody on here thought Cael would quickly overtake Iowa at PSU. Afterall, he failed to do it at his alma mater which is a historically successful wrestling school. Then when he did, we thought he'd "level off" because he lucked out with the double recruiting class. He's only widened the gap since.
DT might not catch Cael, but if I had to bet on anybody to do it, it's him. He's elite in every aspect of wrestling. There's no position he's unfamiliar with. He's a proven coach already. M2 just started and he's already had 2 true freshmen place top 3 at NCAAs.
Is the PSU train likely to derail anytime soon? No. Does that mean all hope is lost? No. Nobody on here thought Cael would quickly overtake Iowa at PSU. Afterall, he failed to do it at his alma mater which is a historically successful wrestling school. Then when he did, we thought he'd "level off" because he lucked out with the double recruiting class. He's only widened the gap since.
DT might not catch Cael, but if I had to bet on anybody to do it, it's him. He's elite in every aspect of wrestling. There's no position he's unfamiliar with. He's a proven coach already. M2 just started and he's already had 2 true freshmen place top 3 at NCAAs.
7 AA finishes and 1 R12. Still pretty damn good. Mind you, anyone that follows recruiting and high school wrestling knew that Alex was a bit of a "plodder". His match with Hall made that pretty apparent. Still, he was a top guy all 4 years(actually 5 with Covid) in probably the toughest weight class I have EVERY seen for that long of a time frame.
Kemerer was even better. 4x AA and a Finalist all while being arguably the best guy behind a 3xer and 4xer in Nolf and Starocci.
I just get so sick and tired of acting like that is even remotely close to a failure. It simply is a jacked up narrative that ignores how truly hard it is to win an NCAA Title, while fully ignoring how hard it is to be a 4x AA....
lol. And those finishes help win championships how? Sorry Iowa should not accept these low standards. Cael has top recruits as true freshmen quite often win national titles. Spencer Lee was a given to win championships. Besides him, how great has it been?
You called it, was all about Recruiting and not sure why TnT quit.
NIL and the portal changes all of that. A decade ago none of that existed. Without the portal we wouldn't be where we are.
Now we have the impact of the instant transfer and how quickly it can reshape the landscape with zero down side or eligibility issues.
Furthermore, high schoolers are entering college ready to compete and contend, that wasn't always the case. Get the top-end recruits, install the proper philosophy, surround them with other elite talent and they will damn near coach and prep themselves. Rinse repeat. Taylor has the name recognition to ignite that spark immediately.
Those same guys were willing to wait at PSU for a year or 2 to get a shot at a starting spot and a lot of those guys went there because of the big names like David Taylor rolling around in the NLWC.
If DT makes a splash with his assistants, which he will, then get a few guys to stick around Stillwater to train post-college... this could bring PSU back to earth, especially with the portal.
You keep saying this isn't doom and gloom for us, but it most certainly could be.
OSU will outplace us in year 2 and will challenge PSU within 3.
Iowa wrestling has built a strong identity over the years, characterized by passionate fan engagement and a unique culture. However, some behaviors from our staff associated with this culture, such as jumping around in the corner of the mat, taking off their shoes, and constantly berating officials, may not resonate with everyone. I think it's important that we recognize that these actions can have consequences. When the team isn't achieving success, the coaching style, embodied by figures like Tom and Terry, starts to lose its effectiveness. Despite their coaching abilities, the team has only produced two individual champions since 2014, with one being completely gift-wrapped for them.
With this in mind, a wrestler like Nolf would be crazy to leave his current situation for what Iowa City currently offers. This sentiment reflects the widespread desire for rapid change within the Iowa building. Successful organizations will anticipate and address issues promptly. However, Iowa wrestling has decided that rather than adapting, we are just going to put our heads down and move full steam ahead on a proven failed strategy. It's very common within family-run businesses for the second or third generation to struggle to move beyond the shadow of past success and hinder further progress
This is the core of this whole circular argument on here. Iowa has maintained itself as the 2nd best program fairly consistently while PSU has pulled away from everyone. Furthermore, PSU has pulled away through a combination of superior recruiting and revolutionizing training and preparation, while Iowa's coach pooh-poohs recruiting and is stuck in the old way of training and preparation, while still maintaining a solid track record against everyone but PSU. Iowa is now at a crossroads where you can play it safe with the old school guy who has been successful but doesn't appear to be willing/able to adapt to the new ways of doing things or you can be bold and change course completely and tear it down and turn it over to an outsider with little to no experience or track record but who is well versed in the new ways, which may result in closing the gap to Penn State, but also could result in falling further behind everyone else if he is not up to the task himself (i.e. is Penn State's success because of Cael or Cael's system or is it replicable by someone else or isn't it?).
What do you want? Do you want status quo and just accept that Cael is a GOAT legend and no one is capable of catching him? Or do you want to risk your second place status in a chase of Cael that may end up being futile no matter what? It seems like Iowa is choosing status quo and ceding the future to Cael whereas Ok St is taking a big risk to try to close the gap. We'll see who is right as time goes by, but in the meantime, watching you guys argue in circles about it is pretty funny.
No one is ignoring anything. That's just not good enough. And it shouldn't be. TNT are not upholding the Iowa standard.
But you know what they are doing? Resetting that standard thanks to people like you. Iowa "brand" is going to be gone in 4 years. It will no longer be the standard that Gable set. We'll all get to watch Okiest and PSU go at it for team and individual titles.
I appreciate the civil stance. My saying I believe Brands is still the guy, is not accepting "defeatism". I simply still think Brands is the best guy for now, because I just don't see anyone out there that I believe is better. As I said to vhs, show me someone that is proven to the point it can easily be argued they would significantly outperform Brands and I am NOT against the change.
So far, I just don't see DT as that guy and am not a fan of "wild card" hires. With Smith retiring and how far OkState had fallen, taking that risk makes plenty of sense. But, that is a way different situation. I just don't think Iowa is anywhere near that point and Brands is still every bit vested into coaching Iowa and making them win. If that weren't the case and his effort ever showed to be less than 100%, that would quickly change my stance...
Most of this comes down to me simply NOT being a fan of "change, just for the sake of change". I have hired and fired way more people than I ever thought possible over the years. There are very few times where I was ever truly happy, either way. Mind you, those hires and fires were never remotely as significant as what this would be.
To me, Brands has done a LOT of good for Iowa. To fire him, I want to KNOW, with as much certainty as any new hire could realistically give, that the decision will net significantly positive results LONG TERM. Again, so far I just don't see that hire being out there. DT may eventually prove to be that guy, but I am nowhere close to convinced at this point. On top of that, even if he does prove to be "that guy" I could see his immediately leaving if the PSU job suddenly opened up, or maybe even tOSU, and that could truly devastate the program...
Brands isn't going to innovate anything at this stage in his career. He needed to be doing that years ago. He is a reactive coach not a proactive coach. Him being completely obtuse to the Larry Lee binder info a perfect example.
All I am asking for is to at least get good assistants. Big problem is TNT will only hire Iowa alumni. They do not think outside of the box. Like I have stated a couple times on this topic, no big recruit gives a crap about Morningstar and Telford. The only reason Iowa got Angelo is because there were willing to take on the other two. So don't pin getting the #1 recruit for 2024 on much.
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If we don't know then neither do the recruits. Brands has been completely MIA and out of public sight since the season ended. No end of year press conference. No discussion of what to look forward to for the off season/next year. I can't even find an interview of him talking about Spencer Lee and Olympic trials/HWC. I guess they can just keep it all bottled up for insiders and let the public perception of their program be what it is.
They don't have the best system if they did they would be getting a lot more individual champions than they have gotten.
